Amazon has been outspending local rivals like Bengaluru-based Flipkart and Delhi-based Snapdeal aggressively to win the Indian market, after it lost China to local ecommerce giants Alibaba and JD.com. The main India unit, Amazon Seller Services, has received Rs 8,618 crore since beginning of 2015 and over Rs 9,600 crore since it was set up.BENGALURU: India was the only market that Jeff Bezos wanted to talk about even as the US-based technology giant Amazon reported a record-high quarterly profit for the third consecutive quarter, making him the third richest man in the world. In the quarterly released with the results, Amazon founder & CEO said that "team in India is inventing at a torrid pace, and we’re very grateful to our Indian customers for their welcoming response.”

“It’s been a busy few months for Amazon around the world, and particularly in India — where we launched a new AWS Region, introduced Prime with unlimited free shipping, and announced that Prime Video is coming soon, offering Prime members in India exclusive access to Amazon Original Series and Movies — including original content featuring top Indian creators and talent,” added Bezos.

The statement comes after an action packed last two months for Amazon in India, which started with Bezos announcing plans to increase investment in India to $5 billion from $2 billion. After that its cloud business, Amazon Web Services, opened cloud region in Mumbai by opening data centres, allowing it to target Indian companies that are required to hold their data in the country.

Then earlier this week Amazon launched its global Prime subscription service in the country, as it looks to drive more loyalty among its growing customer base in India. Amazon Prime in India will offer free one day and two deliveries to customers and early access to its exclusive offers. Prime Video, which will include Amazon original TV series and movies besides other Indian and global content, is expected to be launched as a part of this service later.

Amazon India also launched 6 more fulfillment centers (FCs) earlier this month, taking its total FCs in India to 27. Amazon also started piloting its Pantry product last month, where monthly and weekly grocery and household essentials can be put in a box of up to 15 kg and get it home delivered the next day with a shipping charge of Rs 20. Pantry is currently available only in Hyderabad.

Amazon has been outspending local rivals like Bengaluru-based Flipkart and Delhi-based Snapdeal aggressively to win the Indian market, after it lost China to local ecommerce giants Alibaba and JD.com. The main India unit, Amazon Seller Services, has received Rs 8,618 crore since beginning of 2015 and over Rs 9,600 crore since it was set up. In March Amazon also made its intention clear to keep pumping in more capital, as it filed to increase its authorised capital from Rs 8,500 crore to Rs 16,000 crore.

Amazon India also said that it was the most visited e-commerce site and the most downloaded mobile shopping app in the second quarter, citing third-party reports. Its volumes grew by 150% in first quarter of 2016 as compared to the same period last year, and grew 250% in entire 2015 versus 2014, which are said to be better than the market.

When asked about India on the earnings call with analysts, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky said that "we really like the opportunity in India. We like the initial results that we see from customers and also sellers. We really like our team there. We have a great team of Amazonian's who've been very inventive in India."

While Amazon has been closing in on market leader Flipkart in terms of GMV, the company also needs to adapt to recently announced marketplace regulations. Government guidelines impacting Amazon's advance include the cap of 25% that a seller can account for sales on an online marketplace, and if a marketplace can "directly or indirectly influence sale price of goods or services" which is likely to impact discounts.

"Every time there's an obstacle or something that's different from the U.S. or another major business they'll invent around it, whether it's a shipping method or a payment method or whatever," added Olsavsky about India. "So we are very excited about the Prime program. We think it'll enter into a new chapter in India, and we've seen great success every country in the world that we've launched Prime, and we feel India is going to be no different."

“A divorce could reshape the global wealth ranking. If the couple split their fortune equally, it could leave wife MacKenzie with $69 billion, making her world’s richest woman. It could also make Microsoft's Bill Gates the planet’s richest person once again,” reported Bloomberg. Amazon founder Bezos was dating Lauren Sanchez, a 49-year-old ex-news anchor.